One Yet Many
by Immortal x Snow
Summary: "India and America share the experience of being one yet many: they are both one nation with myriad differences in their respective states and peoples." 50 sentences for the friendship between America and India.


Because The Goliath Beetle is from India and I'm from the States. :)

* * *

 **Motion**

America finally has a dance partner during TV commercial breaks.

 **Cool**

"I thought you'd complain that you were melting," India says after an hour's walk in the heat, to which America responds that hey, this is nothing compared to Arizona.

 **Young**

America is a baby compared to India, and the older nation does not let this go unnoticed.

 **Last**

Although America similarly refuses to drop the fact that he's the world's oldest democracy, even if India protests that he's wrong and needs to open a history book (and besides, he says, being the world's largest democracy is cooler).

 **Wrong**

America doesn't understand how someone as cool as India would decide to have closer ties with the Russian bastard; doesn't India know allying with him and the West is for his own good?

 **Gentle**

He has one-seventh of the world's population, and he treats every single one of them—Buddhist, Christian, atheist, Muslim, Hindu, man, woman—with equal kindness.

 **One**

India and America share the experience of being one yet many: they are both one nation with myriad differences in their respective states and peoples.

 **Thousand**

"I'm gonna convince England to back off you, even if it takes a gazillion years."

 **King**

"Thanks, America—who needs kings, anyway?"

 **Learn**

No matter how long it takes, India is determined to teach America that no, Indian is not a language.

 **Blur**

It's the beginning of the Nixon era, and India is more than tired of America blurring the line between mere vocal support and actual friendship with Pakistan.

 **Wait**

America needs to hurry up with that promised free food: India's bones are protruding beneath his skin in places he didn't know they could stick out so much.

 **Change**

Of course, things do get worse, but they were pretty good between the two of them for a while: Kennedy promised in no uncertain terms that the America would come to India's aid if necessary.

 **Command**

America growls that India needs to stop testing nukes or Clinton's going to impose sanctions; India stops just short of launching the next experiment in front of the other nation, deciding instead to raise an eyebrow, smirk, and tell America not to be so much like England.

 **Hold**

At last, India has broken free from England, and he knows the sense of exhilaration and joy and twinge of fear that America told him he'd feel.

 **Need**

India isn't the first one in New York to help pick up the pieces, but he throws his arms around the American in a tight hug when he sees him next.

 **Vision**

"I really don't need glasses, America," India says; America gives them to him anyway, saying, "They'll make you look as smart as you are, bro."

 **Attention**

They deal with the international attention they get in different ways: America plays it up as much as he can, while India remains his peaceful self, and takes time to think through every consequence that could play out on the global stage on which he's finding himself.

 **Soul**

"Of course there are Christians here, America—and they were here long before they were ever at your place."

 **Picture**

They each have an embarrassing picture of England that they like to use for blackmail.

 **Fool**

"I appreciate your concern," India tells America, "but you really need to stop meddling in things you don't understand."

 **Mad**

But America understands at least part of the issue: that MAD is something no one should have to live with, certainly not India and Pakistan.

 **Child**

"You two are such children," England yells up at them after their latest prank; America just high-fives India and tries not to fall out of the tree doing so.

 **Now**

Only 30 years ago, they would have spent their time complaining about each other—America about India's trigger-happiness, India about America's inflated sense of superiority—but now America's just complaining that India's hogging the popcorn during the movie ("I am not, you glutton!").

 **Shadow**

When darkness falls over the American South, it breaks with the light of one man with a dream and the vision he brings back from the East, from India.

 **Goodbye**

"You sure you can't stay a little longer?" America asks as he hands India his bags; India pauses to look over his shoulder at the Newark airport, shrugs, and jumps back into the car with a grin.

 **Hide**

The more time America spends with India, the more he recognizes his ability to take on the multitudinous problems, some massive and seemingly unsolvable, of his home head-on.

 **Fortune**

"Dude, if you want my help getting that Koh-i-whatever diamond back, I'm totally on board."

 **Safe**

If he were anyone else, America would be terrified when India tells him that during the 26/11 terrorist attacks—even though, yes, he had experienced "a bit of pain," he says—he still went immediately to work and stayed until it was over, same as his people had done.

 **Ghost**

When India hears about America's tradition of trying to scare England on Halloween, he's all too eager to join the fun.

 **Book**

India gets a kick out of the way America screams and runs at the mere mention of the _Kama Sutra_.

 **Eye**

His friend has a vigor and intensity to his gaze that India envies on the days he feels too tired to get out of bed and deal with the screwed up world he's found himself in.

 **Never**

America has never managed to win an argument with India (who, for his part, plans to keep the statistics that way).

 **Sing**

Some nights, when they're both in New York and a little tired of meetings, they go out and sing karaoke together (with plenty of improvised dance moves).

 **Sudden**

"Okay, tell me the real reason you've decided you want to be best friends all of a sudden," India says to England, who pulls a face and mumbles something about stupid Americans thinking the French are better.

 **Stop**

"India, dude, you gotta stop driving this crazy—and I thought we were bad in New York or DC—fucking stop you're gonna hit someone—"

 **Time**

America hasn't told India yet, but he looks up to the older nation as a sort of mentor: he's been alive for so long and dealt with so much during those millennia, and he wants to learn how to be just as great.

 **Wash**

America knows India's time under England wasn't exactly pleasant, but, as he jokes one evening, at least he didn't have to deal with England trying to give him baths all the time.

 **Torn**

America can't decide what his favorite dessert of India's is (and to think, people say he has the most cavity-inducing food—they haven't tried jalebi).

 **History**

India has such stories to tell that America finds himself sitting quiet, spellbound, late into the night as India recounts the stories of his days under Mughal rule.

 **Power**

He's looking forward to cooperating with this weird American for years to come.

 **Bother**

Most other nations might consider Bush a bother, but India remembers him as the friendliest U.S. president he's ever met.

 **God**

India finds God in the faces of his people, no matter their religions.

 **Wall**

America warns that Wall St. can be incredibly crowded; India just laughs and walks right into the fray of businessmen and tourists.

 **Naked**

The idea of changing clothes in front of another person makes America skittish, but India doesn't really give a damn.

 **Drive**

"You know, India, you should really start driving on the right like me," America says, "since it pisses England off so much."

 **Harm**

As much as India gets after America for eating too much and not paying attention to what exactly he was eating, he still brings him plenty of tea to soothe his stomach.

 **Precious**

"These Lord of the Rings movies really are something," India says as he takes the popcorn bowl from America and hangs onto it for the next hour.

 **Hunger**

Most wouldn't guess it, but they've both known hunger: India from years of poverty, America from the years his people tried desperately to survive winter mountain passages and prairie famines.

 **Believe**

If pranking England is a religion, America and India are its co-patriarchs.

* * *

American-Indian relations are interesting. The U.S. was very in favor of Indian independence, but things fell apart during the Cold War when Pakistan allied with the West and India moved closer to the Soviet Union (while remaining officially unaligned with either bloc) to counter. America was a little peeved about this, but India was even more upset that America was supporting its arch-enemy.

U.S. Presidents from Truman through JFK wanted stronger India-U.S. relations—Truman provided $1.3 billion in free food to India, Eisenhower was the first president to travel to India, and JFK resolved to defend India as an ally if necessary. Things went south during the Nixon administration with the US supporting Pakistan in the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War. Then, under Bill Clinton, the US imposed sanctions on India because it conducted nuclear tests (only Japan joined the US in levying sanctions).

The relationship between the two countries has only gotten better since the late 1990s. George W. Bush had the friendliest stance toward India of any American president. The two countries have been working together especially closely since 9/11, I believe.

I like to think the two of them have been able to settle their differences to be partners in dorkiness.


End file.
